The inordinate delay in commissioning the 289-km Khurda Road-Bolangir rail link, mainly due to problems over land acquisition, has escalated the project cost significantly.

This rail project was sanctioned in 1994-95 and the project cost which was then estimated at Rs 1000 crore has now gone up to Rs 1500 crore. To add to the project’s woes is the Railway Board dilly-dallying on sanctioning the second phase of the project (36-112 km) even though East Coast Railway (ECoR) has sent a detailed estimate of the project in 2007.

Besides, the Railways ministry has allotted only Rs 120 crore for this project in 2010-11 against a request of Rs 300 crore.

“The Khurda Road-Bolangir rail link project is facing huge cost escalation due to the delay in its commissioning and the cost overrun has been due to a steep rise in input costs like steel and cement. Also, the Railway Board is yet to sanction the funding for the second phase of the project despite the fact that ECoR has submitted a detailed estimate for the same in 2007”, said an official source

A high-level meeting was held under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary to expedite various railway link projects in the state.

The first phase of the Khurda Road-Bolangir rail link project (0-36 km) is set to be commissioned by March 2011. Land acquisition for this stretch is over while the acquisition of land for the 36-112 km stretch is underway.Meanwhile, work on the 82-km Paradeep-Haridaspur railway track has hit a delay over the demands of higher compensation by the land oustees. This project needs 1650 acres in all and more than 75 per cent of the land has already been acquired and handed over to ECoR.

“The state government had made a proposal to the Railways ministry to consider ex-gratia payment to land losers at the rate of Rs five lakh per acre for rural land, Rs six lakh per care for urban land and Rs seven lakh per acre for homestead land minus the amount of market value fixed by the land acquisition officer. However, the proposal was not agreed to by the ministry and we are thinking of alternative options to resolve the issue through dialogue with the land losers and the ministry”, the state Chief Secretary B K Pattnaik told media persons after the meeting.